 Accepting and refusing in English. When someone offers or invites you to do something, how do you respond? This video will teach you various ways to accept or refuse invitations and offers in English. Let's start with some scenarios. Situation 1. Someone offers you a glass of champagne. You don't drink. What do you say? A. I don't want to drink. B. No, not now. C. No thank you. D. Drinking is bad for you. Think about it. What's the best answer? The best answer is C. No thank you. What's wrong with the others? A. I don't want to drink. Sounds quite rude. B. No, not now. If not now, how about later? That's not a definite no. D. Drinking is bad for you. That's not polite. Why be so judgmental of the people who are drinking? What if you want the drink? What do you say? A. Sure, thanks. B. Of course, I love it. C. Yes, give it to me. D. Okay, I'll drink it. The best answer is A. Sure, thanks. What's wrong with the others? B. Of course, I love it. That's a little bit too much for a simple offer. And what is it that you love? The drink? The service? C. Yes, give it to me. This one sounds impolite and demanding. Okay, I'll drink it. Are you doing them a favor? It sounds like you're doing it for them, not accepting an offer. Can you think of other responses to the question? Question. Would you like some tea? If you want it, what can you say? If you don't want it, what can you say? This lesson is about accepting and refusing in English. We will explore different ways to do this through a few scenarios. Note. If you need to refuse something for whatever reason, try to be both clear and polite. For example, no, I don't want it. That's not good. It's clear but not polite. Mmm, I'm so sorry. That's not good either. Polite but not clear. No thank you. This is the best answer. Both clear and polite. Ready for another one? Situation two. Someone invites you to go dancing this weekend. You don't like dancing. What do you say? No, I hate dancing. D. I'd rather not. Thanks anyway. C. I'm really busy this weekend. D. Are you kidding me? What do you think the best answer is? Analysis. For these situations, we will give you the best answer and tell you why the others are not as good. The best answer is B. I'd rather not. Thanks anyway. What's wrong with the others? A. No, I hate dancing. That's direct but very rude. C. I'm really busy this weekend. Try to avoid lying if possible. What if they ask you to do something else that you like to do? D. Are you kidding me? That's kind of rude. It sounds like a very arrogant response. What if you want to go dancing with them? What do you say? A. Okay, that is fun. B. Thanks, let's to go. C. I am love dancing. D. Sure, sounds good. The best answer is D. Sure, sounds good. What's wrong with the others? A. Okay, that is fun. No, it's better to say that would be fun. It hasn't happened yet. B. Thanks, let's to go. There's a problem with the grammar here. Let's go. But when you say let's go, it means let's go right now. This is not now. This is later. C. I am love dancing. You need to give a clear yes here. Also the grammar is not good. I love dancing. Situation three. Someone offers you another piece of pie. You are on a diet. What do you say? A. No, I'm on a diet. B. No, thanks. It looks good though. C. No, I really don't want to eat it. D. No, you really shouldn't offer it. The best answer is B. No, thanks. It looks good though. Compliment them on their cooking. What's wrong with the others? A. No, I'm on a diet. They really don't need to know the reason you can't accept the pie. C. No, I really don't want to eat it. That's clear but impolite. D. No, you shouldn't offer it. This is very rude. It sounds like you're blaming them. And it's not appreciative for their offer. What if you want the pie? A. OK, maybe just one more slice. B. Give to me a small one, OK? C. I only eat a little piece. I really appreciate it, your pie. The best answer is A. OK, maybe just one more slice. What's wrong with the other ones? Give to me a small one, OK? The grammar is not good. Give me a small one, or please give me a small one. Also, when you say give me this, that's the imperative and it's way too strong for this situation. C. I only eat a little piece. Focus on the pie, not yourself. Also, be careful with eat and have. Generally, if someone offers you something, they use the word have. Have a piece of pie. I really appreciate it, your pie. This is overdoing it. You don't have to be that polite to them. And it's also very wordy. Note, in some cultures, it is polite to refuse the first time and wait for the second offer. In America, if you refuse the first time, they probably won't offer it again. Situation four. Someone invites you to go skiing on Friday, but you have another commitment. What do you say? A, I don't go skiing this weekend. B, I can't play skiing with you. C, I'd love to, but I can't on Friday. D, sorry, I won't go with you. The best answer is C. I'd love to, but I can't on Friday. This lets them know that you like the activity, but you have another commitment on Friday. What's wrong with the others? A, I don't go skiing this Friday. It's impolite, and it sounds like you're just telling them the facts. It's better to use a polite word such as sorry, I can't go. B, I can't play skiing with you. The grammar is incorrect. We say go skiing, and you need to soften the refusal. You don't have to be so direct. Sorry, I won't be able to go this week. D, sorry, I won't go with you. With this one, you need to focus on the activity, not the person. When you say, I won't go with you, it sounds like you don't want to go with that person specifically. Be careful with that. What if you want to go skiing and have no other commitments? What do you say? A, yes, I love to skiing. B, sounds like a good idea. C, okay, let's go in skiing. D, yes, 100 times yes. The best answer is B, sounds like a good idea. What's wrong with the other ones? A, yes, I love to skiing. The grammar is wrong. I love to ski or I love skiing. C, okay, let's go in skiing. Again, there's a problem with the grammar. Go skiing. Also, when you say let's, it sounds like let's go right now. They want you to go on Friday, not right now. D, yes, 100 times yes. This is way too enthusiastic of a reply. A simple yes, I'd love to would be fine. Situation five, someone offers you a ham sandwich. You are a vegetarian, what do you say? A, meat is bad for you. B, I don't want to eat meat. C, no, I am not eat meat. D, no, but thanks anyway. The best answer is D, no, but thanks anyway. What's wrong with the others? A, meat is bad for you. Don't be judgmental of other people who eat meat. B, I don't want to eat meat. Focus on the offering, what they're giving you or offering to you, not on yourself. C, no, I am not eat meat. The grammar is incorrect here. You could say, no thanks, I don't eat meat. And the focus should not be on yourself. Focus on what they're offering you and their kindness. What if you want the sandwich? A, looks delicious, thanks. B, that is a good sandwich. C, yes, I like it, thank you. D, you are so wonderful. The best answer is A, looks delicious, thanks. What's wrong with the other ones? B, that is a good sandwich. How do you know? You haven't tried it yet. C, yes, I like it, thank you. Be careful with like and would like. If you say I like it, that means I have a, I like the taste. If you say I would like that, I would like one or I would like it, that means I'm accepting your offer. You could also say, I like sandwiches in general. D, you are so wonderful. Focus on the sandwich, not on the person. What are some ways to invite someone or offer something to them? Offering and inviting are very similar in English, but there is a difference. For example, offering. Would you like a count noun? Some count nouns or some non count noun. For example, would you like a cookie? Would you like some cookies? Would you like some soup? With inviting, you're using a verb, not a noun. Would you like to verb? For example, would you like to go to the game this weekend? Would you like to go bowling on Saturday? Would you like to have brunch on Sunday? Let's review some phrases for accepting and refusing offers and invitations. We'll start with an offer. Would you like some cake? Offer, accepting. Okay, thanks. Yes, I'd love some. I'd love a piece. If it's a count noun, for example, would you like a cookie? Yes, I'd love one. Sure, it looks delicious. Just a small piece, please. Offer, refusing. No, thank you. None for me, thanks. No thanks, it looks good though. I'd better not, thanks anyway. Invitations. Would you like to go to a concert? Accepting. Sure, sounds good, or sounds great. Sure, I'd love to. Yes, that would be wonderful. Of course, thanks for asking. Invitations, refusing. No, but thanks for inviting me. I'd rather not, but thanks. I think I'll pass, thanks though. I really can't, sorry. Note, yes and no. Sometimes you want to accept the offer or invitation, but the timing or situation is not right. In those cases, you can decline temporarily, but let the other person know you could accept under different circumstances. What do you say? Here are some examples. I'm busy this weekend, how about another time? I'd love to, but I have an appointment that day. How about next week? The cake looks delicious. How about later, after the video? More situations. Role play with a partner. Situation six. Invite your partner, B, to a party this weekend. B, accept the invitation. Situation seven. A, invite your partner to join your church choir. B, you hate to sing, politely decline or refuse. Situation eight. A, offer your partner some marijuana. B, you really don't want to smoke it. What do you say? Take as much time as you'd like to practice these situations. You can pause the video if you'd like to take all the time you need. Think of some other situations in which you might offer, invite, accept or refuse. Try them out with your classmates or friends. Go ahead, talk. You can pause the video and take as much time as you need for these practice situations. Hope that was helpful. If you liked it, give us a thumbs up in the comment section below. And don't forget to subscribe to our channel for more videos like these. If you have an idea for our next video, please send it to us at the link below. Thanks for watching. This video was brought to you by the following English learning websites.